hideous
Adjective Satellite
- grossly offensive to decency or morality; causing horror
- "a hideous pattern of injustice"
- so extremely ugly as to be terrifying
- "a hideous scar"
Adj
- Extremely or shockingly ugly.
- Having a very unpleasant or frightening sound.
- Hateful; shocking.
- Morally offensive; shocking; detestable.
Adjective
- Extremely ugly or repulsive; horrible.
Examples
- I’m sorry to break it to you, but your dress looks truly hideous.
- That combination of letters on my rack is HIDEOUS, offering no obvious words.
Origin / Etymology
From Middle English hidous, from Anglo-Norman hidous, from Old French hideus, hydus (“that which inspires terror”), from earlier hisdos, from Old French hisda (“horror, fear”), of uncertain and disputed origin. Probably from Proto-West Germanic *agisiþu (“horror, terror”), from Proto-West Germanic *agisōn (“to frighten, terrorise”), from Proto-Germanic *agaz (“terror, fear”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂egʰ- (“to frighten”). Cognate with Old High German egisa, egidī (“horror”), Old English egesa (“fear, dread”), Gothic 𐌰𐌲𐌹𐍃 (agis, “fear, terror”).
Alternative etymology cites possible derivation from Latin hispidosus (“rugged”), from hispidus (“rough, bristly”), yet the semantic evolution is less plausible.
Synonyms
horrid, horrific, outrageous, repulsive, dreadful, frightful, ghastly, grim, grisly, grotesque, terrible
Scrabble Score: 11
hideous: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordhideous: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
hideous: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary